2017: Let a New Year of Baking Begin

Review of 2016

Berries and cream celebration cake for New Year's Day, 2017

Last year was a bonanza year for baking. I made a total of fifty different baked items, including a berries and cream celebration cake on New Year's Eve for a special lunch on New Year's Day. This total was achieved because of the baking competition I entered in July, a fund-raising coffee morning I co-hosted in November, and various other occasions during the year. Some items didn't work out well or didn't taste as good as I'd anticipated, while others were ambrosia!

Here's the big list for 2016:

Ale fruit loaf	17-Jan2016
Broccoli & Gruyere tart	23 Jan2016
Fig and apricot scones	30-Jan2016
Marbled peanut butter brownies	3-Feb2016
Cup cakes	3-Feb2016
Spicy biscuits	13-Feb2016
Lemony cookies	13-Feb2016
Blondies	18-Feb2016
Apple crumble cake	18-Feb2016
Vintage cheddar & walnut scones	18 Feb16
Morning muffins	3 Mar16
Pistachio & white chocolate shortbread	4-Mar2016
Rocky road muffins	10 Mar16
Sticky pear & ginger cake	16-Mar2016
Raspberry Bakewell tart	9-Apr2016
Pea, ham & cheese muffins	30 Apr16
Wholewheat scones	26-May2016
Norfolk scone	26-May2016
Rhubarb & orange cake	28-May2016
Iced rosemary cake	29-May2016
Norfolk County asparagus torte	29-May2016
Traditional scones (fruit, cheese and chive)	1-Jun2016
Coconut jam slice	1-Jun2016
Blueberry, lavender and & honey cake	25-Jun2016
Raisin and orange scones	15-Jul2016
Tea brack	15-Jul2016
Apple tart	15-Jul2016
Shortbread	15-Jul2016
Deep American fudge cake	15-Jul2016
Gingerbread	15-Jul2016
Blueberry scones	24-Jul2016
Mushroom tart (with bacon)	10 Aug 2016
Coffee, cardamon & walnut cake	13-Aug2016
Rapeseed oil. lemon & blackberry cake	10 Sept 2016
Rocky road crunch bars	15 Sep 2016
Farmhouse biscuits	24 Sep 2016
Carrot & pineapple cake	1-Oct2016
Jammy coconut tarts	2-Oct2016
Rich chocolate cake with lemon and orange	2-Oct2016
Carrot cake	15-Oct2016
Fruited buttermilk cake	22-Oct2016
Molasses, prune & walnut teabread	28-Oct2016
Amaretti plum cake	29-Oct2016
Rippled date & banana loaf	29-Oct2016
Christmas morning muffins	12-Dec2016
Ginger chocolate chip cookies	12-Dec2016
Festival cake	18-Dec2016
Bitter chocolate and kirsch cherry tortes	23-Dec2016
Crusty lemon bake	23-Dec2016
Berries and cream celebration cake	31 Dec 2016

I've highlighted the items which were particularly well received or that I especially enjoyed. The downside of tasty baking is the calories. Fortunately, my work colleagues are happy to help me share that load.

Just in case you're wondering, I also made eight new soups. I haven't forgotten the original raison d'etre for this blog.

Plans for 2017

This year I want to overcome my fear of baking with yeast. I also want to continue working my way through the Norfolk Cookbook. For Christmas I acquired two new baking recipe books: Scandikitchen Fika & Hygge by Bronte Aurell and The Cardamon Trail by Chetna Makan, so expect some spicy reports.

Wishing my audience (however small) contentment in 2017.

Minnie

Lovage Soup

Lovage Soup Today I made lovage soup, the second recipe by Sophie Grigson in The Soup Book that I have used in the last four days. She introduces the recipe with these remarks: "If you don't grow this old-fashioned herb yourself, ask around among your gardening friends or head down to the nearest garden centre to see if they sell it. " As I mentioned in my last blog entry (18th May), lovage now features among the herbs in my front garden. As the spouse left the camera at home, I took some photographs. Parsley, sorrel and lovage in Minnie's garden. Rosemary, parsley and lovage in Minnie's garden. I had hoped to add chervil to my collection of herbs - there's a recipe for vegetable and chervil soup in The Soup Book - but "Young Stephen" wasn't able to source any for me. At least he tried. Just while I'm mentioning Stephen, I have to reveal that the spouse and the older offspring claim that he has been mention...

2019: Another year over ...

I was very busy last month as I prepared for Christmas. My cooking ventures included making three soups from The Soup Book : zuppa di verdure, Brussels sprout soup and kichidi, which I first made in January 2013, December 2010 and November 2011 respectively. I'm not sure what happened to the kichidi when I made it two days ago, but pouring out the water in which I simmered the lentils, rice and ginger was probably not a good idea. Jamie Oliver's Christmas rocky road I spread the Christmas love by making Nigella 's and Jamie Oliver 's Christmas rocky road. Nigella uses amaretti biscuits, Brazil nuts and glace cherries while Jamie uses popcorn, coconut and stem ginger syrup. Cut and put into bags left over from the older offspring's wedding, both types of rocky road were well received as gifts. A large cake tin full of Nigella's was put to good use at my sister T's house over Christmas. Nigella's Christmas rocky road One of my colleagues p...

North Sea Fish Soup

Shaun Hill is the author of today's soup, North Sea fish soup, and he advises that as the seafood must be "just cooked", dense fish should be cut into small pieces or added earlier. It was a simple soup to make as there was no frying or whizzing. The only panicked moment or ten that I experienced was when I couldn't find the cod loins the spouse had bought. I am terrible when it comes to finding things and can usually rely on the spouse to find whatever it is I'm looking for. It's the main reason I married him. But even he was almost as useless as I was. I could remember riffing on the topic of cod loins earlier in the day. The older offspring had asked: "Why cod loins? Do cod have loins? Do they walk?" Fair point. I remembered asking was it a spelling mistake? Had the packager meant to write "cod lions", and so it continued.All very silly. North Sea fish soup: final addition of the tomato and parsley Ready to eat The ingredient...

Minnie's Soup Kitchen

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